-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- This time of the year , even the youngest children know something is up . There 's a running stream of political advertisements on television , mail flyers with smiling politicians asking for our vote and the ubiquitous bumper stickers on cars .

You can tell when children are getting their daily dose of politics the moment they start parroting back `` I 'm Barack Obama/Mitt Romney , and I approve this message . ''

But making sense of the electoral process can be overwhelming for children .

`` One of the problems is civics is not taught adequately in schools . A Democratic system relies on an enlightened citizenry , as Thomas Jefferson said , to meet its goals , '' says Charles Quigley of the Center for Civic Education , a non-profit , non-partisan organization that promotes civic education .

Schools used to spend more time teaching children about the political process in class . But national education reform 's mandate for high-stakes testing has teachers and school administrators now placing more emphasis on math and language arts at the expense of political science , explains Quigley .

The 2010 Civics National Assessment of Educational Progress , also known as the Nation 's Report Card , found the civics performance of twelfth-graders has been slipping . Only 64 percent of high school seniors were performing at or above basic level .

Achievement by U.S. 4th graders in civics was slightly better , with 77 percent at or above basic levels .

Where to start ?

Quigley says parents can start in kindergarten talking about fairness and justice , why we need positions of authority and rules , what makes a good rule , individual responsibility and rights and the common good .

`` Start early and build through the school years , and you will end up with an enlightened citizenry , '' Quigley said .

The Center for Civic Education provides lesson plans and discussion topics for parents and teachers .

Scholastic , the world 's largest publisher and distributor of children 's books , offers a political website geared for children with biographical information on the candidates , an election timeline , extensive teaching tools and games for children .

Scholastic also has student reporters who provide current coverage of the campaigns , debates and issues .

Children have a chance to cast their own `` vote '' in the presidential race on the Scholastic education site . Since 1940 when Scholastic started the tradition , students have successfully picked the winning candidate of the general election all but twice -LRB- exceptions : 1948 Dewey vs. Truman and 1960 Nixon vs. Kennedy -RRB- .

`` Every election year we take it seriously to teach readers about the Electoral College , our Founding Fathers and how the system they put in place was so resilient it has lasted more than 200 years , '' says Suzanne McCabe , Scholastic Classroom Magazine 's editor-at-large .

2012 elections : Candidate and issue guide

In addition to online resources , students can find valuable information through library books .

NY Times Bestselling author and illustrator , Nick Bruel has written a book designed to get young students excited about the presidential race . His book `` Bad Kitty for President '' tracks the story of a cat running for the local Cat Club .

It 's part chapter book and part picture book .

`` I wanted to create a book that would be fun and interesting for kids about this whole process that this country goes through every four years that 's bizarre , chaotic and wonderful in how we elect a president , '' says Bruel .

Bruel also visits elementary students around the country offering students a civics lesson . Even though it will be years before they can actually vote , Bruel says there is still a role they can play now .

`` They ca n't vote , but they can go up to mom or dad and say , ` Have you registered to vote ? 'Cause time is a-wastin ! ' ''

Recommended books :

`` Bad Kitty for President ''
`` The Election Book : The People Pick a President -LRB- updated -RRB- ''
`` The Kid Who Ran for President ''
`` Election 2012 Skills Books ''

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Do you have any tips on educating kids about the electoral process ? Share them in the comments section below .

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Civics education is falling by the wayside in the U.S. due to testing , says an expert

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Teaching kids about the electoral process at home can begin with talking about rules

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Scholastic.com has online tools for teaching kids about politics , civics and participation

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See book recommendations for teaching kids about elections at the end of this article